1. Technical Field
The system, method and apparatus relate generally to telecommunications. More particularly, the system, method and apparatus relate to tracking the deployment of cellular telephone network sites.
2. Description of Related Art
Related art systems provide data and processes, such as computer software programs, in multiple databases, spreadsheets and other files that are not interrelated, interconnected or in communication with each other. Accordingly, users of such data and processes on a distributed network are unable to execute the software programs and access the data on a real-time basis. For example, such users are unable to access modifications to the data or upgrades to the software programs. Furthermore, such users are unable to access changes to data which may have an effect on the user""s function or processes made by others, on a real-time basis. There are no known related art systems that provide real-time access to a network-organized repository of data and processes, such as software programs, within a distributed data and processes information system.
Telecommunication systems generally employ switches that establish and release connections between two or more communication circuits. Generally, a control processor is utilized to control the operation of one or more telecommunication switches in a given geographic region. The control processor may be utilized to control the operation of one or more digital cellular switches deployed in a particular telecommunication system in a given city. Different geographic regions can generally deploy one or more telecommunication switches that are in turn controlled by a telecommunication switch control processor.
Failures that occur during a telecommunication transaction can be tracked by generating a failure message at the telecommunication switch control processor. Such failure messages generated at the telecommunication switch control processor are referred to as call processing failures occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor.
In general, related art systems provide reports of such call processing failures occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor. The reports are useful to a telecommunication system performance evaluation team for purposes of evaluating the overall operation of the telecommunication system. In accordance with the reports, the performance evaluation team will generally take remedial actions based on an analysis of the cell processing the failure data. However, in related art telecommunication systems, such reports are normally available only for the previous day and are not available substantially concurrently with the occurrence of a failure. There are no known systems that allow a telecommunication system performance evaluation team to receive and evaluate reports of call processing failures occurring at the telephone switch control processor on a real-time basis. Accordingly, the performance evaluation team cannot take the necessary remedial action in response to the call processing failure on a real-time basis.
Failures that occur during a telecommunication transaction can also be tracked by generating a failure message at the digital cellular switch. Such failure messages generated at the digital cellular switch are referred to as call processing failures occurring at the digital cellular switch.
In general, related art systems provide such digital cellular switch failure reports. The reports are useful to a telecommunication system performance evaluation team for purposes of evaluating the overall operation of the telecommunication system. In accordance with the reports, the performance evaluation team will generally take remedial actions based on an analysis of the call processing failure data. However, in related art telecommunication systems, such reports are normally available only for the previous day and are not available substantially concurrently with the occurrence of a failure. There are no known systems that allow a telecommunication system performance evaluation team to evaluate reports of call processing failures occurring at the digital cellular switch on a real-time basis. Accordingly, the performance evaluation team cannot take the necessary remedial action in response to the call processing failure on a real-time basis.
Telecommunication transaction records (call records) generally are collected from mobile telephone subscribers and used for various purposes. For example, the call records can be used for billing purposes, for tracking illegal activity, for troubleshooting the telecommunication system and the like. Related art methods and systems can obtain call records through either the billing system or by searching through every telecommunication switch on the system.
Searching for telephone call records in the billing system has several drawbacks. One drawback of such a system is that it could take days or weeks to obtain the call records.
Another related art method and system obtains the call records by searching within every telecommunication switch throughout the telecommunication system. The drawback with searching the switches for call records is that a user must perform the searching function at every existing switch. Accordingly, it may take up to 2-4 hours or more in order to obtain a complete set of call records at the central office. Another drawback of searching at every telecommunication switch location is that telephone call records are available at the switch insofar as there is adequate disk storage available at the switch. For example, generally, a switch only holds 3 to 4 days"" worth of call records in its storage disk. Any call record older than 3 to 4 days would generally not be available to the user.
There are no known related art systems that can provide telephone call records on a real-time basis. For example, there are no known methods or systems that collect all incoming call records in real-time from mobile telecommunication devices of various subscribers of the telecommunication system. Furthermore, there are no known related art systems or methods that make the call records available to a user in real-time. As an example, real-time means substantially concurrently with the telecommunication device hanging up. In general, within 10-15 seconds of the telecommunication device hanging up, the call records become available for the user to review and manipulate. In addition, there are no known related art systems or methods that store the call records for longer than about 3 to 5 days.
Related art telecommunication methods and systems for collecting and communicating court-ordered requests of call records were found to be undependable. Such methods and systems collect transactional call records requested by court order and a telecommunication switch sends the call records to an agency that is responsible for managing and processing the court orders. However, if any problems are encountered within the telecommunication system, the call records are lost and cannot be communicated to the responsible agency.
There are no known methods or systems that filter incoming call records from a call record database associated with a court order and automatically communicate those call records, either by way of electronic mail (e-mail) message or by way of facsimile transmission, to the agency responsible for generating the court-ordered request. Also, there are no known methods or systems that make the call records available even if the court-ordered request is generated after the fact.
Related art systems are unable to obtain real-time telecommunication cell-specific information during call outages or emergencies. There are no known methods or systems that allow users to obtain up-to-date real-time information associated with a cellular telephone network when needed.
Related art systems are unable to obtain information regarding the deployment of cellular telecommunication sites on a real-time basis. For example, related systems are generally not updated with current information until a deployment project team meets at periodic intervals. In the meantime, deployment project team members are generally unaware of the status of the deployment project until a meeting is held. Accordingly, there is a need for a real-time process that is able to provide deployment project members with real-time up-to-date project information substantially instantaneously once it is entered into the process. Furthermore, there is a need for a process that eliminates the need for maintaining separate databases spread out across various project teams and updating the separate databases.
There are no known related art processes that can provide project teams members with real-time up to date project information once that information is entered into the process. There are no known processes that eliminate the need for maintaining separate databases spread out across various project teams and updating the separate databases. For example the MICROSOFT PROJECT TM process does not provide the type of benefits required for obtaining up to date real-time information associated with the deployment of cellular telecommunication network sites. There are no known related art systems that interact with a user""s or project team""s electronic mail system to provide real-time information such that when a user executes instructions associated with the process they are made aware of any changes in project status on a real-time basis and they are provided with access to the updated project data on a real-time basis.
In addition, there are no known related art systems or methods that provide auto down streaming, such that if a user changes a project variable such as a date, the process can automatically change downstream dates. Also, there are no known related art systems that provide the user with an electronic mail message if a particular project variable is edited or has been satisfied. There are no known related art systems that allow a user to obtain up to date real-time information associated with the deployment of cellular telecommunication network sites.
In accordance with the invention the limitations of the related art described above and other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification are overcome by providing a system, method and apparatus for obtaining real-time information associated with the deployment of cellular telephone network sites. The system, method and apparatus provide a user with the information regarding the deployment of cellular telephone network sites on a real-time basis.
One aspect of the invention provides a method for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or more users. The method includes providing a user interface for entering project variables into a computer; color coding changes that are made to the variables; in real-time, determining cellular telephone site deployment characteristics based on current project variables; and providing the deployment characteristics to an output device.
Another aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or more users. The apparatus includes a computer for use in tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the computer having one or more processors that execute one or more sets of instructions, a memory device for storing the one or more sets of instructions to be executed and a storage device coupled to the one or more processors; and the instructions in the memory device in the computer causing the one or more processors to: receive project variables from one or more users; store the project variables in the storage device; color code changes made to the project variables; in real-time, determine deployment characteristics of the cellular telephone sites based on current project variables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an output device.
A further aspect of the invention provides a computer readable medium having a set of computer instructions encoded thereon. The computer readable medium includes the set of computer instructions being operative with a computer to: provide a user interface for entering project variables into a computer; color code changes that are made to the variables; in real-time, determine cellular telephone site deployment characteristics based on current project variables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an output device.
Yet a further aspect of the invention provides a system for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or more users. The system includes a plurality of computers interconnected in a network for use in tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the plurality of computers each having one or more processors, a memory device for storing one or more sets of instructions to be executed and a storage device coupled to the one or more processors, at least one computer being operative to execute the one or more sets of instructions; and the one or more sets of sets of instructions in the memory device in at least one computer causing the one or more processors associated therewith to: receive project variables from one or more users associated with one or more other computers coupled to the network; store the project variables in a storage device associated with one or more computers coupled to the network; color code changes made to the project variables; in real-time, determine deployment characteristics of the cellular telephone sites based on current project variables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an output device, the output device being coupled to the network.
Still a further aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or more users. The apparatus includes computing means for tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the computing means having one or more processors for executing one or more sets of instructions, memory means for storing the one or more sets of instructions to be executed and a storage means coupled to the one or more processors. The instructions in the memory means to be executed by the computing means to: receive project variables from one or more users; store the project variables in the storage device; color code changes made to the project variables; in real-time, determine deployment characteristics of the cellular telephone sites based on current project variables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an output device.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides a system for tracking deployment of cellular telephone network sites and providing real-time characteristic information about the deployment to one or more users. The system includes a plurality of computing means interconnected in a network for tracking the deployment of the cellular telephone sites, the plurality of computing means each having one or more processing means, memory means for storing one or more sets of instructions to be executed by the processing means and a storage means coupled to the one or more processing means, at least one computing means being operative for executing the one or more sets of instructions. The one or more sets of sets of instructions in the memory means in at least one computing means causing the one or more processing means associated therewith to: receive project variables from one or more users associated with one or more other computers coupled to the network; store the project variables in a storage device associated with one or more computers coupled to the network; color code changes made to the project variables; in real-time, determine deployment characteristics of the cellular telephone sites based on current project variables; and provide the deployment characteristics to an output device, the output device being coupled to the network.
These and various other features of novelty as well as advantages that characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to accompanying descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated and described specific examples of the system, method and apparatus in accordance with the invention.